


Unexpected Warmth

by InterNutter



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: M/M, sazed mention, tragic past
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 11:12:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12652446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InterNutter/pseuds/InterNutter
Summary: Kravitz never expected to feel anything. He hadn't felt anything at all since he became a Reaper.It was supposed to be just another job.This wasn't supposed to happen.It should be impossible.And yet... he's falling in love.





	1. Meet Cute

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The McElroys made some wonderful toys in TAZ:BA. I just play with them

It shouldn’t have happened. It couldn’t have happened. Kravitz was still reeling from the entire experience. And it had all started with an unusual workday.

The schedule was rent asunder. His Queen had sent him to the lands of the living to recapture the escaped souls. But some had not escaped. He had even witnessed one being… taken. Either way the laws of life and death were heavily violated and the Raven Queen was sending the best and only Reaper she had to deal with it.

He had expected to enter the mortal realms, but he had not expected to find three of the seven outstanding bounties in the thick of it. Of course he attempted to bag one of _them_. Perhaps they would be easier to reap than he had thought.

Kravitz had aimed to kill them. Collect the bounty on all three, and used the material around him to disguise his spectral self. He never expected to be trapped in a crystal body.

He never believed that he would fall in love.

“Hail and well met. You look like salt.” He was an Elf, and quite a good-looking one despite, or maybe because of, the imperfections. And like all anomalies, they had to be studied.

Kravitz could feel the presence of a lich, but this Elf was most definitely alive. Kravitz could sense the eight prior deaths on him… but kept staring into those hypnotizing eyes. He looked like the avatar of summer, squeezed into a null suit. Golden hair and dappled skin and all but radiating Summer’s heat. The sun shone in his right eye, while the other was the exact colour of a spring leaf.

And he felt it then. Just a kindling of it in his crystalline flesh. A flush of warmth where his cheeks should be.

It shouldn’t happen. But it did.

And then in the fight, the Elf got rowdy. “Hey thug, what’s your name? I’m about to tentacle your dick! Hey! Hey! Hey! I’m gonna get you into some tent porn! Lemme get that name real quick so I know how to credit you. In my tentacle porn I’m about to make with your body.”

He expected it to hurt. Of course. This was a battle. He expected them to fight. He didn’t expect them to be almost sickening  _ badasses _ . The Elf even ate a part of what was once his Dwarven allies’ arm.

And he certainly never expected any of them to  _ come onto _ him.

“If you wanted to lure me in there, you should have stayed handsome, my fella.”

If Kravitz was still mortal, he’d have expected his heart to skip a beat. He never expected it to start up again. The  _ lub-dub _ of his non-existent heart almost floored him, then and there.

It shouldn’t have happened.

But it did.

And they really should not have helped him round up all those wayward souls. But they did. And he couldn’t help but smile as the former bounty Taako (no known surname) attempted to bargain with more souls.

It was the way he said ‘delicious’ and what it did to his mouth that made that  _ lub-dub _ happen again. Made Kravitz want it to happen… more.

But such was not the case. The Raven Queen had granted a reprieve. They were not to die again. And he would not see that lovely elf until that grim event happened.


	2. Call Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So of course Taako dies some more. It's not an excuse to see him again. Really. It isn't.

Taako had died eleven more times!

Kravitz didn’t wait for his Queen’s word, just made himself comfortable in the Elf’s flat and waited.

His eyes glowed in the dark. Spring leaf green and the amber of warm sunshine. They flared when Taako spotted him.

Kravitz watched in amazement as Taako went through all the tells for shock and fear… and flirting?

“You’ve added quite a bit to your death count,” he said. He tried to sound intimidating, but he could feel summer on his cheeks and the intense desire to taste and feel the summer on Taako’s lips.

Can’t be happening. Can’t  _ be _ happening.  _ Can’t _ be  _ happening. _

“That one’s… on me,” said Taako. Taking all the blame for his comrades. Despite the fact that they were equally to blame and thrust into a situation where they could not have avoided death at least twice.

And as this was occurring to Kravitz, Taako was moving closer. No longer afraid. Looking at Kravitz with… longing? “There are extenuating circumstances, of course. Uh. We could… talk about it?”

Taako’s hand was on his chest, and Kravitz felt consecutive beats. Felt the heat rising in his cheeks. Felt a  _ want _ that he hadn’t known for decades. Centuries. It frightened him. Made his breath short and fast.

_ He shouldn’t have had breath at all. _

“I have to go,” he attenuated Taako’s Stone of Farspeech to be able to reach him. And all it took was a touch of that warm skin. Kravitz’s hand shook. He swore that living warmth permeated his knuckles and sank into his bones.

When he got back to the Ethereal Plane, the Raven Queen was waiting for him. With tea.

He fell to his knees. “Your majesty,” he said, still shaking from his encounter with so much summer and life. “I can explain.”

“Oh get up, there’s a good boy. Sit. Have some tea. We don’t talk a lot.”

Did she see his legs tremble? Did she see him shivering? Did she know what was going on?

There was a third seat, containing Istus. She  _ had _ to know.

Kravitz took a chair like someone knowing they were at an intervention. Felt confession was the best policy. “Lady, something is happening and I’m frightened.”

Eyes as black as night sparkled with amusement. “Oh dear. You can’t get sick... You’re already dead. What’s happening, dear child?”

Istus was grinning under her veil, knitting the threads of fate together in a pattern only she would ever know.

“It- It’s the Elf. Taako.” Just saying his name made breath come again. Made his dead heart flutter. “There’s… he makes me feel… it’s impossible.”

“The seven birds have lit,” said Istus, as if reminding the Raven Queen of something. “One becomes two. Two join to make three.”

Which was complete gibberish to Kravitz. “So… the  bounty? They’ve died eleven more times.”

The Raven Queen smirked. “They are heroes who have restored the order. Consider the bounty negated. Istus needs them for other things.”

Kravitz actually breathed a sigh of relief. He had breath! It was still frightening. He said, “So there’s no reason for me to see them again?” and his heart raced with terror. Never seeing those mismatched eyes. Never getting the chance to touch that golden hair. Never hearing the music of his voice.

“Oh, I’m sure you can talk to him. Them. He’ll want to know the news from our side.”

“You gave him your frequency,” smirked Istus. “He’ll call.”

If anything, that caused even more panic. “But… Lady… My Queen… I can’t-- I don’t--” He stumbled his way through a collection of random syllables. “What’s  _ happening _ to me?”

Istus chortled.

“It’s nothing to fear,” soothed the Raven Queen. “It’s something wonderful.”

“Spoilers,” cooed Istus.

“I can tell you no more.”


	3. Awkward First Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Problems are encountered at the Chug'n'Squeeze

Two mortal days later, and he was sitting next to Taako and drinking wine and discussing life, death, and the revoked sentence against him. And it was so  _ odd _ because Taako had no fear of him. Was  _ flirting _ with him.

Kravitz had always loved the summer. Even when he ran from the Raven Queen as an unsettled soul, he had begged to have one more summer before he spent eternity being cold. And hundreds of years later, there summer was. In the flesh. Clay on his cheeks and wine on his breath.

And a warm smile. And bedroom eyes. And -Lady!- Taako was wrapping his arms around Kravitz to help him with the vase.

His touch burned.

Kravitz closed his eyes, just for an instant, to savour the sensation before he pretended to be paying attention to the lesson.

“Oh boy,” Taako shivered just a little. “Oh boy howdy, that is a clammy one.”

Kravitz wanted to apologise. All the heat from Taako was racing inwards to warm up the butterflies in his middle. He was frankly shocked that the world couldn’t hear his heart thundering. But no. He stayed with business. Talked about how Lady Istus had called for mercy and a pardon.

And they stumbled around talking about death. And it got awkward.

But it got less awkward with the wine.

And it felt so  _ nice _ to have someone want him. And too many times, their lips got close. Only to retreat again. And he couldn’t stop smiling. And Taako was smiling for him. And there was a heartbeat and warm breath, but not, alas, warm hands.

Kravitz kept Taako’s bowl, and he couldn’t place words onto a reason. He gave Taako his vase with the same nameless motive. And realised… they both wanted more. Of each other.

So he asked, “You think I’ll be hearing from you again any time soon?”

It got awkward again, but it was a happy awkward. He said yes! He said  _ Yes! _ Were there any eyes to see, they would see the Grim Reaper dancing and singing a happy tune. Even the Raven Queen caught his infectious enthusiasm and laughed with him as he tripped merrily on his way.


	4. Confessions in the Steam Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako has a perfect solution for the next date. Things get literally steamy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Transphobic dialogue has been removed and replaced to be funnier. Thanks for the motivation, my dear readers.

“Hey cool thing, you busy?”

It seemed like too long since he heard that voice. The furnace within started just underneath his heart. “Not really,” he said, “Just corralling one wayward soul. I’m on my way back to the stronghold. I won’t be long.” His newly-returned breath fogged in the cold of the ethereal realm.

“Sweet. I’ve been thinking about you. And me. And the whole -uh- clammy chill thing. And I have the _perfect_ solution. I’m waiting in a discreet corner. Home in on me when you split the fabric, m’kay?”

It didn’t take much to put the wayward soul back into their cell. “Consider me there.”

The Raven Queen gave him the thumb’s up and a knowing grin. Which meant that he had time off to spare.

Taako shone like the sun even in the shadows. Kravitz barely resumed his fleshy form before catching Taako in a hug. His heart thundered, and began filling his torso with unfamiliar heat.

“No repeats of last time,” Taako whispered. “I left the Umbrastaff with the brat. You’re safe.”

“Sounds good to me.” He made the scythe and the raven-feather cloak vanish. Leaving the sharp suit he preferred. “Now. What’s this about a perfect solution?”

Taako held out his hand. “Allow me to lead you to Paradise.”

Kravitz still had cold hands. He used the heat of his breath to warm them up before he took Taako’s hand.

Taako giggled. “How does that even work? Aren’t you cold all the way through?”

“Um,” said Kravitz. Thinking was hard. Because a man made of summer was holding his hand. “I’m… not sure. This is new to me, too.”

Paradise was the Bureau of Balance’s spa and healing centre, called _The Paradise_. And they knew Taako on sight. Greeted him as an old friend.

“I come here regularly when I want to spoil myself. Which is pretty frequently. They give mind-melting massages.”

“Thank you,” cooed one of the staff.

“Okay. Here’s the plan. Steam bath. Rub down. Hot soak, and then Krav and I would like a nice, private bower so we can look after each other, if you know what I mean.”

“A silence spell on the bower is two gold extra, even with the couples discount.”

 _Is he actually planning to jump my bones?_ Kravitz almost panicked at the thought. Surely he’d burn to ashes upon contact with that much beautiful, mottled, gorgeous elfin skin.

Taako leaned on the counter. “Listen. You know me. You know I get really vocal when I appreciate the finer things in life.” A gesture to Kravitz. “There stands the absolute finest I have found. Are. You. _Sure._ You want to charge extra for that spell?”

No. They were not. “Silence spell will be one silver coin. Since you’re a regular.”

“Much better,” cooed Taako. He placed a stack of coin on the counter. “I’ll help Krav in the changing rooms, thanks.”

And just like that, he was whisked away to certain doom. _He is actually planning to jump my bones!_

“Okay. You can make it look like you’re wearing anything, right?” Fast, nimble, painted fingers were already working on his cravat.

“Uh. Yeah. Why?”

Taako stopped briefly to tap the silver bracer on his arm. “This doesn’t come off. Ever. In order to belong here, you have to have one. Or look like you have one in your case. Is that… do-able?” Taako had his coat, cravat, vest _and_ shirt off by the time that speech was done.

Kravitz concentrated and a copy of the silver bracer appeared on his arm. “Good?”

“Excellent. And you may unwrap me, too.”

They changed into scandalously small shorts with the Paradise logo on them. Kravitz felt his face burning for another reason entirely and let Taako lead him into the steam bath, his golden curls bouncing as he skipped all the way there.

Kravitz moaned at the kiss of hot steam. It was almost torturous. After centuries of being cold as ice, it was as if fire had come to play on his skin.

“Just sit, darling. Enjoy.”

He lolled, leaning against the wall and sighing with every breath. He’d forgotten what it was like to be warm. And with Taako holding his hand, the searing joy of it filled his bones.

“...ooof,” he said.

Taako ladled water over the rocks. “I could live in one of these, some days,” he said. “Just… soaking in the warmth. Never have to depend on anyone’s touch. Not that that’s always a _bad_ thing. You know. Uh.” He changed his grip. Leaned on Kravitz.

And it felt like the sun had come to bless him. Kravitz leaned back a little. His heart finally settled into a strong even rhythm. The butterflies, however, had not gone away.

“I mean… It’s been a _really_ long time, and trust… I don’t trust easily. Andum… Touch-starvation fucking sucks, you know?”

Ouch. Kravitz knew all about that one. It was his ultimate cause of death. “That’s what the rub down is for?”

“Uh. Yeah. Just -um- just making sure I don’t… y’know… go bonkers for you for that. I want… I want something _real_.”

“Oh, Lady, I want reality too,” Kravitz whispered.

Taako cleared his throat. “I’m a dude, dude." A smirk that Kravitz would later learn meant that Taako was playing with him. "Though if you want me to be a lady, I look fucking _fantastic_ in a cocktail dress."

“No. Um. I was… sort of praying? The Raven Queen? My boss? She’s… she’s also known as the Lady of Death.”

Giggles. “I guessed, you big silly.” More water on the rocks. More steam. Taako’s hair began to slacken down. “You tell me about your great betrayal and I’ll tell you about mine.”

Oh, Lady. How long ago was that? “We met in the summer. His name was Byl. And… I thought he painted the stars. It was… it was a very different time, when I was… young. Everything was always caused by demons. And I was a young bard. Full of charm and myself.”

Taako giggled. “Typical bard.”

“And I was not subtle. At all. I’d make up songs about him and sing them for coin in the tavern and was generally a lovesick fool. He… was not that eager to be seen with me. People already thought a demon was tugging at my heart-strings, but I felt it was angels.”

“Aaawww… Now I want to throw up,” Taako singsonged.

“It took five gang beatings to teach me to also woo at the ladies. Shameless flirting with no follow-up. You know the charade. Um. And. After two summers he started meeting with me. In secret. It was… it was sweet. We’d hold hands and talk about other places and wish the faeries would take us to a land where who you loved didn’t matter. Byl never wanted to kiss. He was always afraid someone would catch us.”

“Uh oh,” said Taako. “Big red flag.”

“Yeah, but I was an idiot at the time. I thought he would warm to the idea. I thought we could run away and have a little cabin in the middle of nowhere. Or a caravan and join up with the Travellers.”

“Eeee. No. They’re twice as bad. I got the bruises to prove it.”

“Didn’t matter in the end. One summer never came. It just… kept snowing. People were blaming demons and all that noise. And one night… Byl came to my loft. He said he’d found some magic to cure a winter witch’s curse on our village.”

“Winter witch? Seriously?”

“We weren’t that well versed in magic. And xenophobic as hell. Demons ruined everything, remember? And when Byl said ‘true love’s kiss’, I was sold.” Lady, how long ago was it? A thousand years? _Two_ thousand years? “I remember it vividly. I had to stand in the middle of town, inside a circle of hemp, and swear my undying love. And then we’d kiss. I thought it would be like getting married. And we’d be saving the town at the same time.”

He’d been a romantic fool and he knew it. Kravitz looked to Taako.

“Sounds like you were honey-trapped,” he said. “Used to do that back in the day. Only we’d roll them for whatever they had and run.”

“We?”

“I used to hang with gangs. What happened?”

“I was an idiot. I got dead.” No. Taako deserved more than that. “I met with him in the town square and I never asked one question. I was so foolish in love that it felt like my whole body was _throbbing_ for him. I had flowers. Little dried wilty ones, but I thought the heart behind it mattered. I never asked why the circle of hemp was a rope. Or why I had to stomp my bare feet into the earth. I just did it. I had a beautiful speech for Byl. Declared my undying love for him by the stroke of midnight. Geared up for the kiss…” He was into the narrative, miming the same actions from thousands of years ago.

Taako’s lips on his were an immolation. His touch a sunburst. Such sweet fire ignited his inner furnace and incinerated the butterflies.

Kravitz came back to reality with the certainty that his long-coagulated blood was sizzling.

“Couldn’t let an opportunity like that go to waste. Not sorry,” said Taako.

Kravitz grinned. Dumbstruck. He had once had so many words at his command, but all that could come out of him was, “...wow…” now that he had breath, it was hard to catch. “Oh wow. Wowie.”

“Too much tongue?” asked Taako.

Red fire lit his face. Giggling mortification filled his chest to overflowing. Oh, this was the nicest he had felt in thousands of years. This was the best that he had felt since the day he was _born_.

“That was my first kiss,” he laughed. “And it was totally worth the wait.”

“Oh, fuck me,” wailed Taako.

“Wasn’t that your plan?”

“No. I mean, yes. Super yes. Doy. You’re hot. Life is short. You never- I assumed- I didn’t think you- _How_ is that your first kiss?”

“Can I finish my story?”

“Only if I get to do a do-over on that kiss. I did it wrong.”

“Deal,” Kravitz grinned, his heart thundering at the thought. The fire lit inside him was spreading slowly outwards and was starting to catch in his loins. _This should not be happening,_ he thought, _but I’m glad it is._ “Okay. There I was. Lovesick. Thirsty as all hell for Byl. Eagerly anticipating my first kiss. Praying to the gods that this would lift winter’s curse. And the rope pulled my feet out from under me.”

“No…” whimpered Taako.

“I hit my head on the way down. The next thing I knew, I was hanging upside-down from the executioner’s yard-arm. My arms were bound to a millstone. I didn’t know what was going on, but the town priest was there, and he was giving Byl a black blade. Obsidian. Forged in a mountain’s fire, they said, and made to kill demons.”

“No,” whispered Taako.

“Byl _had_ found a spell to lift the long winter… but it didn’t involve true love’s kiss. It involved betraying a demon to its death. And since everyone believed _I_ was demonic…” A shrug. “Byl cut me. Right here.” The vertical line over the artery on the right side of his neck. Usually covered by his cravat. “So I’d stay alive while I bled out. I died crying out his name. Asking him why he’d do this. Telling him I loved him. I was terrified. Alone. And so cold. There was never a chill like that. And then I was floating, and my Lady was there. I knew what it meant. I didn’t want to be dead. And I ran. Faster and harder and longer than I’d ever run in my life. But the Lady was already there.”

“That had to have sucked. I can’t imagine what that must have been like for you.”

“It was… not the nicest thing,” he allowed. “When I finally realised that there was no escape, I begged her to let me see one more summer. Just one, and I would serve her for eternity.”

“Wow,” said Taako. “Did you get that?”

“She was kind enough to stay by my side and let me watch my village. The summer my sacrifice made never came, that year. And by the next, my stupid villagers thought it was Byl who was the witch, and that I could have sang summer back if they’d just let me.”

“Fickle,” noted Taako.

“Yeah. They hung him on the same yardarm where I’d died. He wanted to run, too, but I caught him. Handed him straight to my Lady. Told him I’d only ever wanted a kiss. And that I was staying until summer came. But… the winter kept on. Nothing grew. The villagers kept pointing fingers and the killing continued. They ate the horses. They killed more people. They ate the dogs. And killed more people. They ate _each other_. Until it was just a forsaken priest begging his god to bring the summer back. Three years. Three years and my village died. And then summer came in the fourth year. Plants grew over the town. And I never felt its warmth.” He turned to stare lovingly at Taako. “Until I met you.”

Taako was thoroughly besotted. “Screw the kissing. Now I wanna skip straight to humping your brains out.”

Reaper or not, he was still a bard. And bards could charm the pants off of anyone. “I’ll let you re-do that first kiss,” he said. “I don’t think I’m properly thawed, just yet. Besides, you owe me a story.”

“Fine,” sighed Taako in mock beleaguered tone. “I’ll do it.” More water sizzled on the rocks. Taako scooted closer to Kravitz, and demonstrated as he spoke. “A first kiss should be done right,” he lectured, “and definitely involves a lot of touching. A lot of teasing. Cuddling and caressing. Little,” smooch, “samples,” smooch, “along the,” smooch, “cheek,” smooch, “and jaw,” smooch, “and ear.”

Kravitz felt his body throb once more. A whimper of pure want escaped his throat.

Taako’s lips were so close to his own. And the Elf himself was weighing him down. Stopping him from taking what he desperately wanted. Taako’s whisper felt like dragon’s fire on his lips. “And then… so very softly, you deliver it. Slow. Gentle. Deepening only when they lead.”

They were the softest, most sensuous hot coals that ever graced his body, alive or dead. Kravitz reached up and tangled his fingers in Taako’s hair. Keeping this magical spirit of _Litha_ close lest he vanish like a dream. The other hand held Taako’s body. Lithe, young, and supple. Just the tiniest bit chubby, but Kravitz loved the softness. Soaked in the heat of him. Felt his body rock with another slow throb. Moaned joyfully into those plump lips. Dared to let his tongue taste Taako’s…

And broke. “Key lime go-gurt?”

Taako was more than a little out of breath, himself. Certainly pleasantly dazed. “Shit, you learn fast. Uh. Uh. Yeah. Long story. Um. Young, stupid, scared, first time… and I charmed my mouth to turn any liquid I drink into key lime go-gurt. And it stuck.” He shrugged. “The long version is fucking hilarious. But you haven’t got all day.”

Emboldened, he stretched up and pulled Taako back down. “I could spend all day doing this,” he said, and went for a slow and sensual deep kiss. Both sets of hands went roaming, and the fire that had been building inside finally spread to warm his limbs.

“Definitely time for the rub-down,” said Taako. “You’re starting to sweat.”

That shouldn’t happen, either. Kravitz didn’t care. “I feel alive when I’m with you.”

“You bards and your bullshit,” Taako was smiling. Helping him up. “Lean on me if you feel dizzy.”

Which was difficult, considering that Taako was four inches shorter without his shoes. Kravitz leaned more because he enjoyed the searing heat of Taako’s skin, but the occasional stumble made him glad of the support.


	5. The Rub Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sex fake-out goes here. If you're embarrassed by that kind of thing, don't read in public

“Ooohh… OOOOOHHHhhh… Ooo right there. Yes. YES!”

Kravitz, on the next massage table, felt ready to spontaneously combust. He was only linking his fingers with Taako, arms lazily stretched across the gap. Taako had not been lying when he said he got vocal when he enjoyed quality.

_ Oh sweet Lady, he already sounds like a bordello in business. _

“...ooooOOOOHHhhhhh… mmmnnnnggh… uuuuhhh… Gods  _ bless _ you…”

Kravitz was a lot more… restrained… when it came to appreciating the rub down. And Taako was right again. Mind-melting.

Absolutely mind melting.

Taako’s next bout of vocalisations was mercifully drowned out by the rattle of the bead rack as the masseuses kneaded two sets of muscles into submission. But Kravitz still heard some of it.

“Gods, you’re going to have to  _ carry _ me to the jacuzzi…”

Hm. That sounded like a darned good idea. Kravitz could still feel the fire inside him growing, but it was no longer bordering on pain. He was starting to savour it.

“Taako?”

“Mmm-HHHMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmnnnhhh… oh… Yeah?”

“You never told me your story.”

“...ooooOOHhhh… not fair. U-uuh… not (OH YES!) not here… Auh! Too many.... mmmMMMMmmm-MM-MM-MMhhh… distractions.”

Kravitz sighed. Made his outstretched hand squeeze Taako’s. “I really want to--” the masseuse hit a tender spot he didn’t even know he had. “ _ Ooooohhhhhhh… _ ” And then he was incapable of thought for minutes on end.

Blissed out.

He could see why Taako was a regular here.

It was later. Every nerve ending was singing. He and Taako were making agreeable grunts at each other. Neither had moved.

“...wow,” breathed Kravitz.

“...yeah,” sighed Taako.

“Can’t move,” he said. It was not a complaint.

“My fault,” said Taako. “Came here on their opening day. Now they all believe if you can still talk, they’re not done.”

“Best I’ve felt in my life,” Kravitz singsonged.


	6. Confessions in the Hot Tub

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako tells Kravitz about Sazed.

Somehow, they made it to the jacuzzi. Kravitz revelled in the bubbles and the excuse to get close with Taako. The bubble engine was relatively quiet and actually produced a soothing white noise. Kravitz kept himself awake by running his hands across the smooth silk of Taako’s mottled skin.

Taako was happy and seemingly dozing. Lolling his head against Kravitz’ shoulder.

“So…” prompted Kravitz.

“Hhmmm?”

“Your story?”

“It’s… not as poetic as yours. I wasn’t young and dumb, I was older and still dumb.” A breath. A sigh. “His name was Sazed. I never used his name when we were together. I don’t use real names with my… allies. It’s… It’s easier for me.” He whirled in the water. Faced Kravitz. “I never really had anyone I could rely on since I was twelve. It’s easier to keep a bit of distance, so… nicknames. You’ll hear a lot of them. If I use your real name, it’s more likely that I think it’s over.”

“Story,” prompted Kravitz.

“Yeah. Uhm. He was… it was complicated. He joined the roadshow before I got big. I used to be a celebrity chef. Um. We were friends. Almost lovers a couple of times. He… he had hangups. And -uh- there was love there, but what he wanted and what I wanted… didn’t match. I thought I could seduce him. He was… he was scared of my ways, so to speak. I spent a lot of time on him. Trying to fix him up. Like he was some kind of clockwork toy that didn’t work right. Y’know?”

Kravitz could picture it. “Pygmalion,” he said. “It never works out.”

“I taught him everything. And because my mind was in my pants, I mixed it up with seduction. Lots of caresses. Lots of accidental hugs. Lots of whispering in the ear. Possibly way too many sex jokes. I had that poor boy flustered. But never hot for me. Years go by, he sticks with me. We kiss. A lot. Hug a lot. I even trusted him to watch over me when I meditated. And that’s a big deal for me. I just… can’t get a good rest when I’m alone, you know?”

Kravitz didn’t. “Really?”

“Trust issues. I have to really have faith in someone to meditate properly.” Taako shrugged. “Sleep fills in the gaps, there, but… night terrors become a regular thing. It’s lose-lose for Taako.”

“Well, if it helps, I don’t need to sleep. What’d Sazed do to you?”

“Persistent. I could almost hate that.” Sigh. “Yeah. Uh. I got him… competent with a lot of stuff. He could get the  _ mise en place _ together and that kind of junk. But he had no stage presence. He had no idea of how to perform to the audience. He was nowhere near  _ smooth _ . And he wanted to bite off more than he could chew.” Taako seemed to be staring at the muggers who were waiting for him down Memory Lane. “He wanted to be a co-host when he was still all thumbs and regularly pointing his butt at the audience. He wanted  _ co-billing _ . And he wasn’t ready. He really wasn’t ready. Not by miles. I--” his beautiful and luminous eyes were filling with tears.

Kravitz soothed them away. Added kisses to the ember-hot touch of his face. “Take your time.”

“I was… probably a little too blunt about it. Pushed the point home a little too roughly. But still… that was no reason to--”

Kravitz pulled Taako into a gentle embrace. “Come on. I fucking  _ died _ . How worse can yours be?”

“He poisoned forty people at Glamour Springs. He made me feed them their deaths.”

Shit. “Okay. Okay. I’m sorry I said that thing, now. I’m an idiot and you can hate me.”

Giggles mixed in with the tears. “He left me two days after that. Took the horse. Left me in a caravan that couldn’t go anywhere. I… was a hot mess. We knew each other for six years. Nearly seven. And… he went and did that. Not just trying to kill me, but forty innocent people. I think I only made it to here through dumb luck. Idiot wizard.”

“Lucky wizard. Talented wizard. Gorgeous wizard.” Kravitz started playing with his golden hair. It had gone straight in the steam and the heat, and was surprisingly long. Added kisses to his dappled brow. “Beautiful,” smooch, “brilliant,” smooch, “brave,” smooch, “sexy wizard.”

Tears forgotten and scrubbed off. “If you’re going to start  _ that, _ we should probably make our way to the bower.”

Kravitz’s heart, thundering happily, leaped for his throat in that instant. “You still want to--?”

“Hells yeah.”


	7. The Bower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako and Kravitz enter their little hide-away. Discussions are held about Kravitz's... education

They made out all the way to the bower, and almost didn’t notice as they literally tumbled inside. There was no other world but Taako. The silken softness of his burning-hot flesh. The unbelievably sensual feel of his hair. Damp from the baths, limp from the steam and the heat. Kravitz couldn’t run his fingers through it often enough and Taako loved the attention.

Summer was in Taako’s skin, and sunburn came with the long, thin fingers running all over Kravitz. The heat he had craved for millennia was  _ right there _ in one vibrant, living body. There weren’t enough kisses. He didn’t have enough hands. He could not get enough of that delicious summer. The taste of his sweat. The scent of him. The sound of him. Sweet Lady’s mercy, Taako was loud and Kravitz adored every moan and whimper.

And those skimpy little shorts with  _ The Paradise _ stitched into them in gold were getting in the way. Kravitz slid his hand past Taako’s waistband.

Taako broke away. Backed off. “Wait. Wait. Just a-- just a moment.”

Kravitz retreated. Gasping and afraid. “Did I-- I didn’t mean to-- I thought--”

“Cool your jets, fantasy Shakespeare.”

“Are you hurt?”

Taako snorted. Smirked. Giggled. “Oh Gods, what a virgin. I’m fine. Honest. It’s not anything you did.”

Kravitz couldn’t help himself. He cupped his hand around one of Taako’s glutes and squeezed as he said, “But…?”

“...bards and puns, oh my god…” Taako giggled. His face was reddening up. “Um. I’ve… I… er. I… have… never… lead this kind of… dance. I’ve always let the other guy lead. Um. And you need… you need a solid education.”

“So where did you start?”

“In a whorehouse. Underage. With a sack full of gemstones and my heart trying to escape my chest… top-notch lessons though.” His face was on fire. “If I could give a lesson like that…” His eyes flared wide. Glowing briefly in the shadows cast by the draperies of the bower. “You’re a genius.” And he leaned in for another deep kiss.

Key lime go-gurt and warm embers mixed together on his lips. Kravitz felt his body vibrating with want. He soaked in the sensation of Taako. Revelled in the heat of him. Kneaded his gloriously padded body. Raked his fingers through the fine clouds of gold that fell in a waterfall from Taako’s head.

Taako needed to breathe. “Okay,” he panted, “Top marks for making out. But before we get to the awkward fumbling stage, I really need to set up for the curriculum. Okay, babe?”

The fires inside him had reached his skin, at last, and the burning ceased to be burning, any more. It was… comfortably warm. And Kravitz wanted every particle of it he could get. And yet, he felt more than a little lazy with it. Like planet Taako would come and be Kravitz’s entire world of sensational pleasure. All he had to do was wait.

Taako got unsteadily to his feet. Shorts tellingly tight. Wobbled over to the entryway to poke his head out of the curtains. “We’re- we’re going to need a lot of towels. Like a  _ lot _ of towels. Think of a- a- a positively insane amount of towels. Add a ludicrous amount more. Then double that figure. Oh. And -uh- the finger food sampler and a bottle of your finest long about the fourth orgasm. We’ll keep our pants on until the towels get here. Fair warning.”

Kravitz was starting to love the feel of the flush of blood to his cheeks. He could love everything of mortal temperatures. But most especially the very specific region of summer that was Taako.

“Okay. So… while we’re waiting on the towels, I’d like you to show me what you’ve learned about delivering a first kiss…”

Kravitz was eager to oblige.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter contains absolute buckets of loving intercourse and consent games between two men. If that's not your bag, skip over to the epilogue.


	8. One Hell of a First Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Taako teaches Kravitz a few things. Kravitz rolls a natural 20 to seduce.
> 
> Magnus rushes in to where he really shouldn't be, and reveals a current secret in the process.
> 
> Lots and lots of happy fun frik frak herein. If you don't want to read about two men doing it, skip to the next chapter.

Fifteen first kisses, seven heady make-outs, and three good, solid snogs passed before the towels arrived. Kravitz was almost disappointed. He was hoping for a few more lessons on snogging. On the other hand, he was about to learn more than he ever knew in life.

As a Reaper, he got to see most of Faerun at its worst. It was easy to believe the world was miserable, cruel, and senseless. But Kravitz couldn’t believe that of a world with Taako in it.

Taako mage-handed a couple of towels over. “Okay. Warm up your magic muscles, baby… I’m about to teach you the most important cantrip of anyone’s love-life ever.”

It had been years since he’d done that. Kravitz cleared his throat and sang a scale. Hit middle C right off the bat.

“Really?” said Taako.

“Bard,” Kravitz gestured at himself. He was Attuned, now. He could sense the magic in the air. The gentle hum of the floating lamps. The symphony that embodied Taako. The subtle under-chord that ran the heating systems.

“Right. Uh. This one is called… Produce Lube.” The towels got spread between them, and slowly pronounced four syllables. He was not channeling magic, so nothing happened.

Kravitz repeated them.

“Jeh li, darling. Not Joh.”

And repeated them properly. Rejoiced at Taako’s smile.

“Excellent. Now when you channel, focus on where you want it to come out. This is where it can get messy for beginners.” He demonstrated, and the harmonies of magic from the cantrip were subtle. Pianissimo. But a steady stream of clear goop emitted from one of his middle fingers. And almost immediately soaked into the towel.

“I… might have to sing it.”

“Oh, this is going to be fun. Go ahead.”

Kravitz tried to focus. Pianissimo. Staring at his hand rather than the wonderment of summer who was his tutor. “Kae wye jeh li,” he crooned. The stuff  _ fountained _ out of his entire hand. And filled his mouth with an entirely unexpected flavour. He spat into a corner of one of the towels. Fortunately, it stopped as soon as it started.

Taako was mopping up as if it wasn’t a thing. “It happens like that, the first time.”

“Even in the mouth?” Kravitz was still trying to purge the taste.

“That one’s on me. I went and got you -uh- orally fixated, so to speak.” Taako picked up that freshly-cleaned hand and began paying extreme and lavish attention to Kravitz’s middle finger. Kissing, licking, and even suckling on it.

Kravitz was intently aware of how tight the shorts were. His heart should have shook the building to its foundations, it was beating so hard and so fast. “...holy shit…” he whispered.

Fresh towels were there between them by the time Taako was laying a series of kisses on the very tip of Kravitz’s ravished finger.

“Try it now.”

Kravitz took a minute just to focus. It was easier to pay attention to the happiest finger in his world. And the very tip, where the lips of summer had just brushed it. No voice, this time, to the song. A bare whisper. Quadruple pianissimo. “...kay wye jeh li…” It was still an eager fountain, but nowhere near as abundant as his first flood.

“Nice,” cooed Taako. “I didn’t get nearly as much refinement in that one for like a year. That was beautiful, beautiful.” Another snog as a reward, and more towels came flying closer thanks to Taako’s mage hand. “Now we play a little game called  _ Yes and No _ . We do stuff with each other and if we like it? Say ‘yes’. If we don’t like it? Say ‘no’. And the important part is… don’t do the ‘no’ stuff.”

Kravitz was already sliding his hand towards the waistband of Taako’s shorts. He wanted  _ naked _ so much he could almost taste it.

“The hard part,” said Taako, “is taking turns.”

He was acutely aware of two other hard parts. Taako had to be feeling the same uncomfortable lust that was a sweet agony in Kravtiz’ loins. He had to have the same addling of his head keyed directly to the steady and frantic drumming of his heart. “...naked?” he begged.

“Yes, of course naked.” Taako helped with Kravitz’s shorts, since Kravitz was so invested in Taako’s.

It was something of a relief to no longer have those tight little pants torturing his nethers, but he wasn’t paying attention to that.  _ He’s summer all over. Oh, sweet Lady help me, he’s summer all over _ . And now he felt mortified over the thick, rugged shrubbery that surrounded his own member, because Taako had a fine, golden, silken down that provided elegant decoration.

He risked a look at Taako’s face, and found unconcealed admiration. Delight. Happy anticipation. “Poor Kravitz,” Taako purred. “I’ve built you up too long… Let me take the edge off?”

This marvellous summer Elf started kissing his way down Kravitz’s chest. Caressing his thighs and belly. Better than a make-out. Better than a snog. All Kravitz could do was gasp, “Yes,” over and over. And then hot hands and sweet, succulent, elfin mouth met where Kravitz had never known that they could.

Words fled him.

Restraint fled him.

His hands buried themselves in Taako’s hair. HIs hips bucked uncontrollably. He cried out without care for range or timbre or even clarity of note. Without care to who or what could hear. Without care that he felt like his entire body had become the sun…

And floated back down to the pillows and gigantic mattress of the bower. Greedy for air. His hands unclenched and ran to the ends of Taako’s golden locks.

Taako withdrew with a smirk, leaving a final kiss on the tip. “Was the levitation a bard thing, an undead thing, or a Kravitz thing?”

Kravitz was still panting and making pleased little, “Ah,” noises.

Taako moved up to lie beside him. Smiling indulgently. “I can wait.”

He finally found the will to speak. “I… don’t know. I’ve never…”

A mischievous smile. “Hmmm.” The hands of summer ran over his chest. “I must say, you’re retaining heat pretty well, my dude.”

He wasn’t retaining it. He was making it. Himself. And it shouldn’t be happening at all, but there it was. Happening. Because the living avatar of  _ Lithe _ loved him. Wanted him. And all he could say was, “You make me feel alive.”

Giggles. “You said that before, bard.”

“It’s the only way I can explain it.” His attention gradually tore away from the beauty of Taako’s face to the pulsing heat at about hip level. Where Taako was still erect and wanting. “Do you want me to--” what were his words? “Take your edge off?”

“Not gonna lie, that would be nice. But -uh- it can be a stopping point for a lot of guys.” Kravitz was already beginning to kiss his way downwards. Savouring the amazing flavour of his sweat. “You don’t have to. That’s what I’m saying. You can… use your hands if you like. And -uh- you- you- you definitely don’t -uh- have to swallow.” Revelling in the soft smoothness of his body. Paying attention to every freckle. “That’s… that’s not oblig-- ah!” He had reached his goal and grazed it gently with his teeth.

Kravitz stopped. “No?”

“Fu-huck,” gasped Taako. “Gods. Yes! Play away.”

Kravitz couldn’t stop smiling as he played with Taako’s… sports equipment. Caressing. Licking. Kissing. And the most delicate of play-bites. Until he was finally ready to take Taako into his mouth. He hadn’t expected a dick to taste just like the rest of him. For some reason, he thought it would be a different flavour.

The joy of it was watching Taako. Seeing this master maestro of pleasure lose all control. Hearing the discordant melodies that were Taako’s screams of unadulterated joy. He swallowed the hot, salty lava of Taako’s release without meaning to. Simply because Taako had a very firm grip on Kravitz’s head and it was either swallow or choke.

Kravitz wrapped an arm around each one of Taako’s slender thighs. Rested his head on what could have been Taako’s abs if he worked out. Watched that slight chest rise and fall. Listened in rapt attention to the repeated, “Oh”s and, “Oh Gods,” with an unstoppable smile on his face.

“Quick study,” warbled Taako. “I like that.”

Kravitz kissed his way back up, letting his hands take turns at kneading or caressing Taako’s soft flesh. Adding little nibbles just to feel that silky, summer smoothness ease between his teeth and caress his tongue. He stopped on the way to Taako’s glorious mouth to ravish a nipple to the tune of Taako’s gleeful ‘yes’es.

“Taako?”

“...you stopped…”

Kravitz moved over to the other side. Kissed. “This can’t be all of it, right?”

“Ye-e-e-essssss… Uh. You’re -um- you’re right. (Oh Gods) There- there- there- there- there’s…. (uh!) More!”

Kravitz supplied more nibbles and kisses. Listening to Taako trying to talk in the throes of passion could easily be his favourite symphony. He abandoned Taako’s nipples and nuzzled at his neck. “So?” he said between play bites. “Where does the Produce Lube come in?”

“Uh! Oooh! You… (yes!) fucking tease…(AAAUUH!) I can’t… (UNF!) talk…”

Kravitz chuckled, holding Taako close underneath him. Enjoying the animal responses as painted nails raked his back. As lithe, flexible legs tangled with his and caressed him. He worked his way up Taako’s neck. Inhaled his scent and let the smell of horny Elf fill his long-still lungs. And began nibbling on a sun-kissed earlobe.

Taako went  _ wild _ . Scrabbling and clinging at the same time. Crying out in pure lust as he thrust against Kravitz and a hot pool formed between them.

Kravitz returned to light kisses as Taako shuddered through his finishing spasms.

“...thank you, Istus,” Taako gasped.

The moisture between them was sticky. Kravitz reached for one of the closer towels, and stopped himself. “Uh. Is it… rude… to wipe it up?”

“Never been an issue before,” Taako panted. “How ‘bout… you rub me down… and we see how it feels?”

Kravitz could not stop smiling. He’d made this vastly more experienced Elf wizard climax just by teasing him. His face warmed up at the thought that Taako was characteristically very big on revenge. Which meant that, very soon, Kravitz would be at Taako’s mercy.

Nice thought.

He took the chance to cares Taako as he mopped. Tickling him a little and admiring the brief jiggles that caused. This was a feast and a half after so long in famine. Kravitz wanted to savour every second.

“C’mere. You got some, too.” Taako had a towel, and used it to grace Kravitz’s abs. “Just lean on back,” he cooed.

He lingered long after the stain of his own seed was gone. Eventually dispensed with the towel. Became invested in caressing every pore with hands that felt like summer sunshine. Lips as soft as roses and as hot as the dying embers of the spring festival fires.

“Ah!”

And teeth as sharp as a hornet’s sting.

“No?” queried Taako.

“Little too hard,” he said.

“You’re so buff, I can hardly bite you at all… Can’t sink my teeth in, there…”

He laughed. “I had to  _ work _ when I was alive. You wizards have always been soft.” He groped a belly roll.

Taako moved like a viper. Legs and arms twisted and suddenly, Kravitz was looking at the drapery on the ceiling. “I may not be the most threatening silhouette, but I can be unexpectedly  _ deadly _ …” He lunged, mouth wide.

Kravitz shrieked.

And there was a noise like an enthusiastic bowel movement, and the shriek turned into squeals and unstoppable laughter as Taako the Merciless tickled him into submission.

“Okay, okay,” Kravitz laughed. “I surrender. Claim your spoils of war, O mighty wizard.”

A devilish smirk. “I think it’s about time you were thoroughly deflowered. In the best possible way.”

It began with teasing. Kisses and caresses and careful nibbles of those sharp teeth. Setting little fires of passion that made Kravitz’s breath a hard beast to catch. One hand drifted between Kravitz’s legs. Closer and closer to his anus. Tickled it a little.

“Tighten up, then relax,” Taako cooed.

He did that, and the invading presence of Taako’s heat was inside him. Gently massaging. Taako muttered the spell and grinned as Kravitz moaned.

“This is very important, darling. You are allowed to say ‘no’ at any time. I never want you to feel bad”

Kravitz couldn’t speak. He just nodded.

Two fingers, now. Hot and slick and working away inside him. Moving him. Stretching him. All the while Taako covered him in kisses and play-bites. Moving Kravitz’ knees up and apart.

And then it wasn’t Taako’s fingers. It was his dick. Easing inside. Slowly. Pulsing and burning with summer’s heat. And he felt so wonderful.

“Fuck me,” whispered Kravitz. “Sweet summer Elf, fuck me blind…”

“I prefer... to make love,” Taako panted.

He was right. This was far removed from the direct rutting of boys on maidens he had seen in his life. Where both participants were more like wild dogs than lovers. This was… this was a devotion. Where Taako used everything he had learned in their Yes-No game to bank Kravitz’s inner fires higher and higher. To render Kravitz helpless in the unrelenting tides of passion.

Taako was loud and in his ear. And Kravitz sang the same song, full to bursting with fire. Thirsting for nothing but Taako’s lips. Hungry for nothing but the taste of the sweat on his skin. It was his turn to rake his fingernails into Taako’s back. To try and grip those soft wizard buttocks with his legs. To lose all control and flood them both with his own hot and sticky seed. Just as Taako filled him with his.

Taako clung to Kravitz as he wound down. One delicately pointed ear to Kravitz’s chest. Listening to the thunder of Kravitz’s heartbeat. Gently stroking Kravitz’s skin.

“Sorry,” Taako managed. “That was… that was a bit rushed… My fault. Not used to lovers who float.”

Kravitz, meanwhile, was amazed that he hadn’t spontaneously combusted from the heat of their mutual passion. Air, warmth, the amazingly hot Elf currently sprawled across his body… being in love and being loved… it was all a miracle so grand that he felt the end of the world would have to happen just to make it possible.

All he could say about it was, “Oh Gods,” over and over again. In immense gratitude.

Of course it wasn’t perfect. Nothing was. There was Taako’s long hair in his mouth, and leaking fluids would soon become… problematic. And he was fast becoming aware of Taako’s weight on portions of himself that he would really rather not have weighed down. And for such a nicely padded wizard, there were parts of him that were really fucking pointy…

And he didn’t care.

He picked the stray hairs out of his mouth and combed them back into place with his fingers. Tried to memorise Taako’s expression of post-coital bliss. Trying to read Taako’s golden hair with his fingers.

Byl had had curly hair. Red as a fox, and he kept it short. Kravitz had loved to run his fingers along Byl’s hair when it got long. To feel the peculiar bumps in it and try to read how it would curl. 

Taako’s hair was smooth. No little bumps or twists that could tell him how or why it would curl. Then again, this was  _ Taako _ . He could purposely curl it, set it, or anything. Or maybe he had a cantrip to do whatever with his hair.

“How can you have a heartbeat?” asked Taako. “You’re dead, right?”

“Supposed to be,” he said. He certainly didn’t feel that way, right now. “I’ve never felt more alive. And it’s all you.”

A slow grin took over Taako’s face. “You’ve said something like that before, homie.”

Kravitz ran his fingers along Taako’s exposed ear. Brushing the piercings and making that ear twitch. “Maybe it’s true. It’s never happened to me, before. The only thing that’s changed is…” Flashbacks of Byl made an unwelcome cold invade his spine, but only briefly. “I fell in love with you.”

Taako looked vaguely horrified, himself. His hair spontaneously turned into flowing waves and apparently shortened by half a foot. “Th- that’s not a- not a bluff…”

Kravitz played with a lock. It still felt as smooth as silk. Still flowed like water between his fingers, but it was want to form golden waves. Kravitz had learned a lot in the employ of his Lady, and this sort of transformative magic only belonged to twinned Elves. Taako never mentioned a sibling. It was easy to deduce that the missing match must have perished somewhere in his lover’s lengthy past. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it.

And Kravitz didn’t want to talk about the elephant in their little patch of paradise. Taako’s panic at being loved. And considering that they had both made fatal mistakes in the past… “Not gonna lie. Telling you is… a big risk for me. Last time I confessed my love, he literally killed me. The worst you’re going to do is run away… right?”

Silence. Taako was mute and staring.

Fear stopped Kravitz’s heart. Made him shiver. “...right?”

“Yeah. I mean. No. I mean…” He absently grabbed some of his hair and started braiding it. “Last… Um. La-last time, I -uh- I heard words like that?” A sigh. “He was screaming at me. Yelling that everything that went wrong was… was my fault…”

Oh. “I never meant to hurt you. Taako, please…” He offered his hand. “I never wanted to hurt you. I promise.”

Taako took it. Reeled himself in for an embrace. Clung. Tight. Shuddered more than a little. “Sorry,” he murmured. “I only just learned it was  _ him _ and not me. I’ve been… I’ve been blaming myself for… for… Almost six years. Shit.” A sigh. “I couldn’t really eat. I couldn’t cook for six years. And I  _ love _ to cook… Loved. Absolutely loved it.”

Kravitz ran his hands through Taako’s hair. Soothing him. “It’s a pity Sazed isn’t on my books,” he cooed. “I could legit go scare him to death.”

There was a laugh. A lazy and slightly evil chuckle. “Thank you. But no. Let him stew in what he did.” The waves of his hair began to relax, just as Taako was relaxing. A few more steadying breaths and, “Oh look. Food’s here.”

Kravitz smiled as Taako rolled free and stretched for the dishes. Living in the moment. And at this moment, he was hungry. Kravitz envied this part of Taako.

“Yes! They added in the fondue,” Taako squeaked. “Chocolate, of course. I think these people know me a little  _ too _ well.”

Mage hands carried the platter and the wine and two stemless glasses back into the middle of the bower as Taako crawled over the cushions. “I love fondue,” he said, “It’s cooking without cooking. It’s just… dipping stuff in stuff. No danger at all.”

“Have you… brought people in here before?” Kravitz asked.

“Uuuuhhhh,” said Taako.

And then an unwelcome invader broke their little bubble of privacy. A big, bold voice, just like the speaker. Magnus Burnsides, also an ex-bounty. “Hey, I’m trying to find my friend, Taako? He was seen coming in here, right?

Taako froze with a white-knuckled grip on the tray he had been arranging beside their love nest. The only thing that moved was his hair, which went instantly from lazy and artful waves to a sphere of frizziness with a faint rustling sound.

“...shit…” whispered Taako. “It’s the meat shield…”

Kravitz whispered, “He doesn’t know you come here?”

“He can’t know I came here with  _ you _ …” Taako looked around himself in panic. “Gods. What’m I gonna do? Where are my pants?” He went scrambling for towels. Through towels.

Kravitz whispered, “Aren’t you a  _ wizard _ or something?”

Towels dropped. Taako smacked his forehead. “Oh. Duh.” And he cast Minor Illusion, sprawling himself over most of Kravitz.

Kravitz couldn’t see what Taako had changed, but was glad that the making out had resumed. He smoothed Taako’s hair out as the beautifully soft wizard relaxed into a very nice snogging session. Very much in spite of the human fighter clomping around like a one man wrecking team.

“Taako is busy entertaining,” said one of the staff. “Please don’t go--”

Magnus rushed in. “There you are -whoops!” Magnus rushed back out. “Ho-ho-ho-o-oh kay. Did  _ not _ know ‘entertaining’ was code for ‘partying with someone’.”

“Don’t say a word,” Taako whispered. He draped the both of them over with a towel each. Out loud, he said, “You might as well barge on in, Maggie. You spoiled the mood anyway.” He lounged artfully next to Kravitz. Used Mage hand to bring a bunch of grapes to his hand. Fed one to Kravitz.

He fed another to himself as Magnus sidled back in. “Oooh, nibbles…”

“None for you, there’s food in the cafeteria and in the multitudes of establishments on the moon. This is for me and my good friend, here.” Another grape each, nibbled off the stem. “So what got you tromping in here like a grand elephant parade?”

“The little guy was worried about you. You know he is. Spotted you sneaking around with a stranger. Aaand now I know it’s -uh- what would you even call…” he gestured loosely at the both of them. “...this?”

“Stress relief,” said Taako. “I have needs, and Carol is very understanding.”

Kravitz grinned and waved like any other Bard who knew they could get laid with a beauteous Elf like Taako. And tipped his head back as he opened his mouth for another grape.

Magnus awkwardly waved back. “Yeah. Uh. So. Um.”

Taako yawned in the passive-aggressive manner that clearly communicated that he had had enough of Magnus’ presence. “Tell the little brat that I’m having adult levels of fun on my me-days. Which I frequently need because my job is high risk and high stress.”

“Yeah, okay. That works.” Magnus licked his lips and eyed the tray hungrily.

“And you can’t tell him from here, can you?”

“Just one little canape?”

“Out!” Taako stopped looking fierce and grinned. “ _ Or _ we’re gonna get rid of the towels and carry on as if--”

“Already gone!” Magnus rushed out.

“--you’re not here.”

Kravitz looked at Taako. Taako looked back. Laughter fountained out of them both. So much so that Taako flopped into the cushions beside Kravitz to cling and giggle.

“Carol?” said Kravitz.

Still giggling, “I had to improv. Maggie knows not to ask around for anyone named Carol. Like I said. I never use real names.”

The magic note of Minor Illusion faded out as Taako got back to alternating between fondling and feeding. Kravtiz let himself soak in the luxury of Taako’s presence before that same, pestering question resurfaced. “You’ve… had a lot of lovers. Haven’t you?”

“Dude I’m a hundred and fif-- no…” he fell to mumbling, doing math on his hands. “Shit. I’m nearly a hundred and  _ sixty _ . And I’m like… the opposite of a monk.  _ Way _ opposite of a monk. You can safely assume that I’ve tried everything at least once. That- that said, I’m not easy. I’m not… loose. I mean, there was a time I turned tricks for a while, but that was survival-oriented and not… not… not  _ me _ .” His hair was starting to ripple.

Kravitz kissed him. Staunched that flow of anxious babble with his lips. Thrilled at the taste of key lime go-gurt and the welcome warmth of summer’s lips. “I’m glad,” he said. “Truly. I am. It means you could show me what making love really is.”

The waterfall of his golden hair returned to straight streams. “Oh. Okay. Okay then. I- I- I thought you might be one of those prudes who- who think experience points are bad.”

“No,” Kravitz had to laugh. Considering how much he had levelled up at sex since this began, he didn’t think any of it was bad. “Um. More like… I’m nervous about it. Like… how do I... compare?”

Taako straddled his body, sitting up so he could dip fruit into the melted chocolate. Taunted Kravitz with one.

“Nobody’s ever asked,” he finally said, letting Kravitz feed him. Watching that delicious mouth savour a chocolate-coated strawberry was almost as hot as the sex. “It’s not like I rate anyone. It’s like… I -uh- I live in the moment. Love the one I’m with. It’s like… flavours, I guess. Some are spicier than others. Some… some were -uh- regrettable flings. Rotten and nasty, you know? Some were bland and filling. Some… completely unexpected. Like chips and ice cream. You? You’re -uh- You- you’re- you…”

Kravitz fed him a grape that he’d dipped in chocolate. It came with his chocolate-coated fingers which Taako easily licked clean.

“Mmmm! Sweet. You are unbelievably, unimaginably, completely sweet. But not like… cloying? You’re not a candy feast. It’s... ummm… Saltwater taffy. Sweet and savoury and absolutely delicious and I could have you in my mouth all... day... long…” He demonstrated this point by leaning back down for a long, slow, solid snog. “Green apple saltwater taffy,” he purred when he came up for air.

“Why green apples?”

“Because you’re just a little tart, too.”

Oooh, that was atrocious. Kravitz guffawed at it anyway. Kissed him. Tangled himself in as much of that sweet summer flesh as he could grab. “Gods, you’re so hot,” he purred.

The amazingly flexible elf wriggled free. He seemed annoyed, but his hair was still slack. “That’s it? I’m  _ so hot _ ? I thought you were a  _ Bard _ .” He rolled off and away and turned his back. “That is  _ not _ how you seduce  _ anyone _ .”

Kravitz sat up. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to spoil the mood. Taako… I…”

A long, aggravated sigh. “Okay. This is a  _ game _ that I’m playing here. A little roleplaying. A bit of fun.” A half turn back. Sincere eyes. Bedroom eyes. Both at once. “Truth is, I’m almost spent and… I wanted to see a Bard do a seduction roll… before I can’t get it up any more.”

Immense relief. “Please don’t scare me like that again? I almost shot back to absolute zero.”

Taako turned away again. “That would have been a sin.”

Kravitz hummed a middle C again. Bringing his old magic back from millennia of disuse. And speaking of millennia of disuse, he remembered that he hadn’t truly eaten in thousands of years, and the best odes of love were never writ with a rumbling stomach. Frankly, it was amazing that its presence hadn’t made itself loudly known before he thought of it.

All it took was one taste of the delicate little canapes and he knew who was responsible for the recipe. Kravitz had done his homework on all the bounties. Taako was a chef, and an excellent one at that. His roadshow and cookbook were famous all around Faerun. But, by now, as a distant memory.

The food though… Taako was exactly the sort to insist that the local food be up to his own high standards. Kravitz didn’t have to sell his delight in eating them. Everything was perfect. Flaky pastry. Perfectly-cooked stuffing. Just the right balance of herbs and spices. It was a far cry from the thin stew that had been his last meal.

He savoured every flavour, humming and mumbling his appreciation. “That has to be… the second most perfect experience I have ever known.”

Taako took the bait. “ _ Second _ ?”

Kravitz did his best seductive purr. “You’re always in first place.”

One corner of Taako’s exquisite mouth quirked upwards. “Well. If I’m the best, don’t I deserve  _ your _ best?”

“The first time I saw you, I was blown away by your eyes. I could not stop staring into them. I told myself that I was trying to figure out your deaths and the sensation of a lich, but… It was your eyes. They remind me of springtime and the summer sun, both of which I have missed for over two…  _ thousand… _ long years. Before I met you, I forgot what life and living was all about, and I’m certain I didn’t really know until I knew you. And now… perfect joy is literally within my grasp…” He reached out to caress Taako’s cheek. Brushing his fingers along one elegant ear. “It’s more of a miracle than I could ever ask for. And if there was only one thing I could beg of my Lady before I sank forever into the eternal pool of oblivion… it would be to make love to you as if it were your first time all over again. Because you deserve such a perfect joy.”

Taako was momentarily speechless. Definitely breathless. Certainly entranced. “Whoof,” he finally said. “You rolled a nat twenty, my dude. Yes fuckin’ please.”

Of course he began with a first kiss. In true Bard style by beginning with the pulse point of Taako’s wrist. Kissing his way up to that sun-dappled shoulder as one hand gently ran patterns across his body. Circles and spirals and little flourishes.

Taako muttered, “Oh, fuck…” as Kravitz reached his collarbone. The one arm supporting his weight buckled and trembled.

Kravitz supported him, pressing their torsos together. Keeping their hips side by side. Staying away from any kind of contact with Taako’s genitals. “No,” he whispered. “Making love.” He laid Taako down on the cushions as he neared Taako’s neck. Kept to kisses as he crossed to the other side via the clavicle.

Taako was only capable of animal noises by the time he reached that dappled ear.

A slight miscalculation, though. The instant Kravitz reached Taako’s sweet lips, the Elf in question almost ate him alive. Gripping tight and going at Kravitz like a starving man at an unexpected feast.

Kravitz took the cue and got between Taako’s legs. Added slow strokes to those thighs and trying to ignore the fact that Taako was urging him on in a hurry. Hips bucking with an urgency that Kravitz hadn’t seen before.

“Ssh…” he whispered into one of his lovely ears. “Patience.” His non-dominant hand teased at Taako’s dick, which twitched in response to his touch. Drifted past his testes and dallied with that golden down. And moved between his cheeks to his anus.

“...please, please, please please please,” Taako whispered. “Oh Gods…”

Taako grunted as Kravitz mouthed the cantrip. Moved to try and make Kravitz’s massage faster.

“I’m ready, I’m so ready. Please. Mercy. Do me. Do me now…”

Kravitz took his time. “I want to savour this. Give you my best,” he panted. “You deserve the best… don’t you?” Two fingers now. Working him. Stretching him. Tantalising him.

Taako’s only answer was a long, drawn out moan. Throaty and getting loud.

Kravitz smiled. He was doing this exactly right. He went in slowly, fighting to keep his eyes open so he could see Taako’s face. He hadn’t lied to Taako at all. This was the single best experience of his existence, living or dead.

And as if to prove it, Kravitz started to lift off.

Both arms now embraced Taako, who was becoming less and less of an anchor as Kravitz revelled in the joy of him. Who was wrapped around him possessively anyway.

While he still had contact with the floor, he kicked urgently so that he and his uncontrollable floating tendencies now buoyed up his lover. Of course, this necessitated holding on to Taako’s hips so he could make sure this went at the slow pace he wanted most.

Taako was doing everything he could to urge Kravitz on. Kissing, nibbling, stroking, and kneading. The capability for speech had left him, now, and all that was left was moaning and crying out in pure lust.

Kravitz fought to keep it slow and sensual, even though the pleasure of it was starting to overtake him. Even though he was flying high on the fabulous sensations. Literally and figuratively.

They fell onto the ceiling, Kravitz once again on top. Sort of. His levitation pushed them both against the ceiling, but everything else obeyed the laws of gravity. Kravitz was shrouded in the golden falls of Taako’s abundant hair. Almost deafened by Taako’s cries, which were just starting to get hoarse.

He couldn’t last. He knew it. As he began moving faster and faster, he also started nibbling his way up Taako’s neck, towards his ear.

Taako may have hit E above high C, but he didn’t hit it well.

Kravitz didn’t care, lost in the bliss of release. Sinking slowly down during his last, few spasms. Holding close to his lover. His love. His Taako.

“...gods…” Taako rasped.

Kravitz could barely hear. His blood was sizzling in his ears. Every cell of his body felt like fireworks. “Mmmm,” he sighed.

It was not perfect. Once again, there was a shared mess on their bellies and Kravitz had even more hair in his mouth than he believed could be possible. And Taako had drooled on his shoulder at some point.

“...remind me,” croaked Taako.

Kravitz awkwardly reached for the wine and poured them a half-glass each. Passed one to Taako, who was a very pleasant weight on most of his body.

Gulp, gulp, gulp. “Remind me never to goad a Bard again…” he panted.

Kravitz drank, too. Spilling half because he couldn’t turn properly. “Don’t goad me,” he said.

And the world still felt wonderful. In spite of the hair. In spite of the sticky mess. In spite of the fact that someone, somehow, would have to explain the extra mess up on the ceiling draperies.

He had beauty. And summer. And warmth.

And a very nice afterglow to enjoy whilst cuddling someone who loved him.


	9. Better Than Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Earning love is one thing. And it is a wonderful thing, indeed. But with Taako, there's one thing that's even more precious.

Something else happened, that day. In amidst the afterglow and learning Kinsey's Magic Cleanse and wine and finger food. Kravitz felt… drowsy. He hadn't known hunger, thirst, nor weariness for thousands of years. And now all three had come to him.

And so had something else. Something that he had also forgotten as part of the living experience.

Satisfaction.

Kravitz never really enjoyed his work. The kind of people who loved Reaping were not the kind who were good for the job. And they never lasted very long. He understood that it was necessary. That some souls needed help. A guide. And in rare cases, an agent of the natural law.

It was never fun. It never should have been fun.

The years in his Lady’s service eroded his expectations. Stopped still any attempts at joie de vivre. It was just… work. He hadn't even tried to sing since his first years in servitude.

Here and now? With Taako right beside him and the both of them feeding each other. And the warmth of another in his arms. And loving and being loved back… Kravitz was satisfied.

“Thought you said you didn't need sleep,” murmured Taako.

“Didn't used to,” Kravitz sighed. His eyes kept drifting shut. “Also couldn't enjoy the pleasures of the flesh. Before I met you.”

Taako was snuggled right up beside him. His eyes also kept drifting shut. “Wanna actually sleep together?”

Kravitz couldn't remember sharing a bed with anyone. Ever. “Sounds nice,” he purred. “Sure you won't get night terrors?”

“I sleep better with someone beside me,” said Taako drowsily. “'Specially if it's someone I trust.”

Kravitz's heart rang like a golden bell. That sleepy summer Elf had just confessed his trust! 

This was  _ Taako _ . A being who famously did not trust easily. Someone who had been bitten so much that shy was his default state. An Elf who constantly hid behind one facade or another lest someone get too close and strike at a vulnerable point.

Kravitz had won something even better than Taako's love. Something rarer and far more precious. Something clearly impossible.

And there it was, anyway. Embodied in the way that Taako simply cuddled up against him and closed his eyes. At peace and feeling secure.

Grinning like a fool, Kravitz kissed Taako's beautiful brow. Cuddled tightly in return. And let himself relax in Paradise. He fell asleep with the smile still on his face. And dreamed of summers.


	10. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz comes back to the Raven Queen and some changes are instantly noticeable.

The Raven Queen watched as her longest-serving Reaper entered the Ethereal Plane. His mortal form was giving off great gouts of steam as he literally walked on air towards her. He didn’t even notice that he was doing it. And he was  _ humming _ .

There hadn’t been a tune in his throat since he saw his last summer, and wept that he couldn’t feel its heat.

She smiled for him, knowing that he would not be alarmed at her pointed teeth. “I gather you had a good time?” she said, as if that wasn’t writ plain by the dopey smile on his face or the thunder of a heart that should not be beating.

He breathed in like he was smelling an exquisite perfume, and said, “Miraculously good.” And actual flames came out of his mouth. Ignited by the heat of life in the lands of the dead. He noticed. “What?” And then covered his mouth.

She chuckled, reducing herself to mortal size so she could embrace him. “You said it yourself. He makes you feel alive.” A kiss to his brow. “My poor, darling Reaper. You’ve been dead on the inside since your untrue love betrayed you. That’s why you haven’t felt anything since your death.”

He stepped back so that his flames wouldn’t hurt her. Such a sweet heart. “I thought it was just because I was dead. And now I’m breathing  _ fire _ ? How am I not going to burn your whole castle down?”

“Those flames will harm no-one and nothing, my sweet. Try it. I promise it will be fun.”

Kravitz plucked a rose from one of the ornamental vases. Black, of course. Blew on it with his new-found breath. The rose went from black to blood red to vivid and vibrant red, still flaming. Kravitz stared at it. Stared at her. “ _ What? _ ”

“Love,” she cooed. “It’s something wonderful, isn’t it? And something you so sorely deserve.”

He said, “Thank you, my Lady.” And yelped as his fire washed over her.

She was the Raven Queen. The goddess of death. The flames of life and love washed over her briefly. Added a colour to her bone-white flesh and a shine to her ebon feathers. “It’s only a pity that I can taste life but briefly,” she sighed. “It feels so wonderful.”

He went from terrified to exuberant in an instant. “I could share it with you. While it lasts. I can tell you everything.”

“Please,” she said.

And the only soul who had felt sympathy for the Lady of Death to date… took a deep breath and used a Bard’s words to explain every detail of falling in love and being in love.

_ This, _ she told herself,  _ is going to be an utter delight _ .

 

END!


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